Any one made a wooden sluice box ?

[Goldfreak]

Looking for inspirational examples of wooden prospecting equipment. Think wood is an underrated material that can be very strong, abrasion resistant and easily worked.

 

[Mackka]

A mate of mine made one years ago out of marine ply, worked a treat. About 6 foot long 2 feet wide and 4-5 inches deep with adjustable legs. It was a bit heavy to cart any distance.
Mackka

 

[Whisp]

Why would you bother? These days alloy is cheaper and lighter than timber or ply, not to mention far easier to work with and better longevity.

 

[NeilM]

Why would you bother? These days alloy is cheaper and lighter than timber or ply, not to mention far easier to work with and better longevity.

Some folks just like to make things and timber is easy if you can't weld.

I am going to have a crack soon at a timber sluice
I am going to buy a river sluice at some stage but really just want to have a crack at making one...

 

[Rusty_G]

Why would you bother? These days alloy is cheaper and lighter than timber or ply, not to mention far easier to work with and better longevity.

Some folks just like to make things and timber is easy if you can't weld.

I am going to have a crack soon at a timber sluice
I am going to buy a river sluice at some stage but really just want to have a crack at making one...

I did the same. It's made out Alloy, but as it's a river sluice I didn't need to weld anything. There's satisfaction in DIY! :Y:

 

[Mackka]

Whisp it was forty years ago to be precise and it worked well on the Turon.
Mackka

 

[Whisp]

Whisp it was forty years ago to be precise and it worked well on the Turon.
Mackka

I'm not saying it doesn't work, because patently it bloody well does, just go back and look at the 49'ers all they had was wood ... aluminum hadn't yet become popular. All I was trying to point out is why make it harder for yourself. But of course if you have a private gold bearing river at your front door then go for it.

 

[Goldfreak]

I have nothing against aluminium and love working with plastic. Just want to make something out of wood.

 

[Goldfreak]

Why would you bother? These days alloy is cheaper and lighter than timber or ply, not to mention far easier to work with and better longevity.

Some folks just like to make things and timber is easy if you can't weld.

I am going to have a crack soon at a timber sluice
I am going to buy a river sluice at some stage but really just want to have a crack at making one...

I did the same. It's made out Alloy, but as it's a river sluice I didn't need to weld anything. There's satisfaction in DIY! :Y:

Of topic, but did you make it out of one piece ? Saw some one on this forum that bent some metal into an angus mackirk shape. Impressive :Y:

 

[20x]

ive been youtubing topics like ancient mechanics and fluid mechanics lately. I remember one vid on I think it was ancient Japanese mechanics, they built a working clock out of wood 2000 years ago. I haven't checked out ancient egyption fracture mechs yet, I'm sure that will come in handy one day.

the rabbit hole is endless mate..

 

[Brick]

Goldfreak,
I don't know if you have seen this before, but check out this video on youtube ! Youtube Channel : mnbvczxc Name of Video: Building a sluice box
I saw this several years ago and it was incredibly inspiring for me. This guys bush craft skills were awesome. I have come up with all kinds of DIY prospecting equipment thanks to videos and forums like this one. It must have been hugely satisfying for him to build that sluice and then use it and watch it catch gold.

 

[Goldfreak]

Goldfreak,
I don't know if you have seen this before, but check out this video on youtube ! Youtube Channel : mnbvczxc Name of Video: Building a sluice box
I saw this several years ago and it was incredibly inspiring for me. This guys bush craft skills were awesome. I have come up with all kinds of DIY prospecting equipment thanks to videos and forums like this one. It must have been hugely satisfying for him to build that sluice and then use it and watch it catch gold.

Thanks for the link. Some very scenic country you have over there in the Rockies. The kind of place I could get lost on purpose. Spent some time in Florida and Atlanta back in the 90s had a great time but never really got used to Grits.

 

[Jayboy prospecting]

Hey Goldfreak,

I built this river sluice out of wood and stuff I had around the house!

I call it the six-pack sluice ( as it took me the time to drink a six pack of beer to build)

Took it out for a try and works really good. Even caught the very small stuff which was cool.

I really had so much fun building it and more so when I used it in the field! So GO FOR IT!

Oh yeah down side its wood and likes to float away. Hahahaha needs to be weighted.

 

[Jayboy prospecting]

Results from about six full pan test run.

Was pretty happy! Tested a pan of the tailings and had 1 micro. ?

 

[Goldfreak]

Great work :Y:

 

[shakergt]

If u use ply wood I would use marine ply or form ply. Last longer than normal ply wood and won't swell when it gets wet

 

[Mike Marsupial]

I have nothing against aluminium and love working with plastic. Just want to make something out of wood.

Yeah, I like it too. I've been making stuff out of metal and bloody plastic most of my life. I've only recently starting making stuff from wood, and I like it a lot! It dosn't clang when you hit it, doesn't shatter when you hit it, doesn't go off from UV, doesn't need pristine tools to work the stuff, and nails and screws can be thrown through easy as pie!

I'm also looking at doing a sluice, and will probably do a prototype from thinish marine ply to see how it transports, sets up in the field and catches gold. lololol most of my stuff improves considerably in the second version!

The other alternative is to go and buy one of those really cheap steel shelving racks from Bunnings and rig something with the shelves.

 

[Goldfreak]

I have nothing against aluminium and love working with plastic. Just want to make something out of wood.

Yeah, I like it too. I've been making stuff out of metal and bloody plastic most of my life. I've only recently starting making stuff from wood, and I like it a lot! It dosn't clang when you hit it, doesn't shatter when you hit it, doesn't go off from UV, doesn't need pristine tools to work the stuff, and nails and screws can be thrown through easy as pie!

I'm also looking at doing a sluice, and will probably do a prototype from thinish marine ply to see how it transports, sets up in the field and catches gold. lololol most of my stuff improves considerably in the second version!

The other alternative is to go and buy one of those really cheap steel shelving racks from Bunnings and rig something with the shelves.

If you are planning on using any glue what would you recommended ? I can get away with minimal glue by using a router for riffles but am not sure how to make the corners water tight.

 

[Mike Marsupial]

Personally, I wouldn't do anything fancy for a first try. Probably just good quality acrylic paint or a proper epoxy coating like a good two-part garage floor coating.
Also thinking the riffles might not need to be built into the bed. Could be dropped in as part of a second assembly, which would make it easier to try different setups. Perhaps tightening that assembly onto the bed using inset bolts with wing-nuts on the underside of the bed.

It's got me thinking now. Dangerous!

Looking forward to other comments/suggestions.

 

[jethro]

I built a little high banker out of 3 ply years ago then fibreglassed over the top of the whole thing . its a bit heavy, but almost indestructable. and works great too. It needs a set of legs attached to the sides to make setup a bit easier.